4 Out Of 4!

If I only learnt one thing last year, it was that racing when you are not really up for it has no benefits, and can actually lead to injury and despondency. I was due to be taking part in the inaugural Snowdon Supercup (an invitational uphill only race to the cafe on top of Snowdon - just my cup of tea!!) just 2 weeks after the World Trail Champs. Having sustained the psoas injury in the trail race, I wasn't sure of either my body's recovery, or my ability to get a "race head" back on in time, and so I withdrew from the race. I was disappointed to do so, but lesson from last year taken on board, and hopefully the Snowdon race will develop and be there for me in the future.

 

Post-party chilling with friends

The Pentlands seen from East Cairn summit

Making the most of a suddenly free weekend, I went up to Edinburgh to stay with my Wales roomie Fionna - and was introduced to running in the Pentlands (admittedly after a party the night before). The Pentland Hills are a range of hills running about 20miles from the southwest of Edinburgh towards Biggar. We did not go to the more popular area near the skislope, but to a beautiful quiet part, where we hardly saw a soul, but had great views from the summit of East Cairn Hill (567 m). Fionna told me that it is usually very muddy, and you would expect to come back filthy, but the fact that it hadn't rained for weeks meant that the ground was bone-dry with springy turf rather than boggy peat. I loved it - definitely a place to come back to and explore further!



Having felt relatively OK on the Sunday, I felt that I could join in with the Gelston 5 mile road race on Tuesday night. This race is part of my club's Grand Prix, and a race that I've not been able to do for the past few years, so I was keen to better my previous course best-time of 30:30. The only problem was that the race started at 7pm and I was due to work from 7am-6pm, but as registration was only possible on the day, there was plenty of time as the start was delayed due to so many people wanting to enter.

The start was very low-key - a whistle was blown and people started running, but as we headed out of the town I fell in with a couple of guys in a small pack - with the two leaders (my clubmates - Steven and Alan) just up ahead. Even though it was very warm and muggy (the forecast storms held off until we were in the pub afterwards), my legs seemed relatively fresh from not having run much in the previous fortnight. I did wonder how long it would be before the "Trail-tiredness" kicked in.....but I hoped it wouldn't be before the finish!



The start of the Gelston 5



By the time we got to the 2 mile marker, I was amazed to have left my initial group and joined up with the guys in front, though they did make it look like they were "running easy". The 3rd mile did involve an uphill drag and Steven then started to pull away, stretching the rest of us out along the road. An extra water station was kindly provided (due to the heat on the night) just as we turned a sharp 90 degree bend, but as I was on the outside of the corner, I couldn't get to it. Alan passed a plastic cup across, but clumsy me didn't manage to get anything into my mouth.

The road stretched away on front of me and appeared to go on for ever, with many undulations. I really thought that I couldn't keep going as it felt so hot and I thought that I must have been slowing down considerably. Still, I figured that if I can force myself to push to the end in an ultradistance race, then I had better do the same in a short race - and if it doesn't feel uncomfortable, then you're not trying hard enough. I couldn't remember when the final turn across the grass into the park was.....and seemed a lot further away than I'd remembered, but finally I saw it, and went for the line.

I was surprised that nobody has come past me in the final miles - and checking my watch later shows that I still have little idea about the speed I run at, as I hadn't really slowed down much at all. Not only did I beat my previous time on the course, but I broke the course record by 46seconds in my 2nd fastest 5mile time! Then again, I had to push all the way as my clubmate Lisa ran superbly also finishing under the previous record and gaining a well-deserved PB.

The Gelston 5 was the 4th GrandPrix race I've run this year, and I'm so happy that I managed to achieve my private target of breaking the CR, as I'd set a quiet trend with new records in the 3 previous ones. Maybe now I should just quit while I'm ahead?

Drugtesting Revisited

Having come off the WADA "My Whereabouts" database earlier in the year, drug testing has been pushed to the back of my mind. However, I do believe that there is no real excuse for failing a drugs test, as you should know what you are putting into your body (even if it's just chocolate!). I know that any runner such as myself can be subjected to random tests, especially at the end of big road races such as Comrades, but I did not really think of trail racing as having the same testing procedures. Naive of me I guess, as there's no reason why trail runners should be exempt.

Hence it came as a bit of a surprise when I was stopped by one of the IAAF testers at the end of the World Trail Championships and taken off to the "testing tent". They were testing the ladies that finished in positions 1, 3 and 4  so unfortunately I was one of the lucky few!!!

Being tested in such circumstances was certainly interesting - samples have to be provided with a witness present - and portaloos are small enough when you are just trying to fit inside yourself, never mind fitting two people in. Luckily I was allowed to bring Eleanor (the ladies' team manager) along with me, so she could stand guard at the open door, as we were actually in a field with other finishers walking past, but hey......on a positive note, at least I had the privacy of the portaloo to get changed in afterwards!

Ah.....the glamourous world of running!!!!

World Trail Championships

In recent times I have become better known for road running, but I cut my "ultra teeth" off road taking part in mountain marathons with my friend and clubmate Doug, and running across the Atacama Desert in a multistage race. Being given the honour of representing Team GB in the World Trail Championships meant that I had an excuse to return to my old love.........off-road running!

The event is held every 2 years and this year Great Britain was to be the host nation, and so we were hoping for a good strong performance with home crowd support, though the reigning champions (France - male and female, individual and teams) were returning and Team USA were highly favoured.

The course (in the Gwydyr Forest) was described as approximately 77km long (including 5x 15km loops) with about 2500m elevation lost and gained overall.







The Opening Ceremony

I knew I had the endurance in my legs, and Comrades had shown me that I could produce a strong finish when it counted, but I just needed some more off road confidence. Although I had to let my body recover from the rigours of South Africa I managed to squeeze in a bit of trail running in the lead-up to the event in Wales : a local trail 10k (actually setting a new ladies' CR in the process), a couple of off-road tempo parkruns, and a run on the West Highland Way (an excuse to get to know my team-mate Fionna, and to support people we knew who were running the WHW race).



I have found that inov8 shoes seem to fit my feet well, and so Likeys kindly arranged for some new shoes to be sent to me. With perfect timing, they arrived on the Tuesday, I tried them out on a few laps of a school playing field on Wednesday and then took them down to Wales on Thursday.



With Iain at the Press Conference

My clothing was slightly less organised, as Adidas (who make the GB kit) seemed to have changed their sizing, and so I actually didn't have a vest that fit me until 9pm on the Friday night.....and the race started at 9am on Saturday. I did however, end up with a fitting tracksuit and shorts and so we felt very smart as a team at the Opening Ceremony in Llandudno on Friday morning, and also up at the press conference in Llanwryst on Friday afternoon.

Within Team GB there was a brilliant mix of backgrounds, occupations, experience and nerves. Some people considered me an old hand as I'd run for my country before, but then again, that was in 2011 and was on the road. Others were much more experienced off road, but in a different type of event. It meant that we could all share information and help each other out. I was sharing a room with Fionna Cameron (the Scottish Trail Champion) but as it was her first international race, she was understandably very nervous. In a way, this actually helped me, as I didn't really think about my own race at all, as I was trying to put her at ease and to help her build up her self-confidence.

Saturday dawned clear and sunny and it was already rather hot when the 124 international athletes were mustered in the Eisteddfod Stone Circle at Llanwryst. We knew that keeping hydrated and adequately fuelled was going to be the main priority of the day. I had been trying to drink all morning, and so by the time we had been walked to the startline I felt that I already needed to find a toilet (but I guess that was mainly nerves.......though it didn't help that a film camera was pointed at me when I mentioned it to my teammates)!

The 5 British men started at the front of the field and were strong throughout, being led home to a team Gold medal by the new World Champion, Ricky Lightfoot from Cumbria, who just kept stretching out his lead through the final few laps.



Here come the Girls!!!!

We 5 British ladies took a more conservative approach, starting at the very back to ensure we didn't get dragged along the opening kilometre too fast. I did find it difficult to run that slowly on the road and so passed many people as we climbed steeply up to the forest, though I expected to drop back as soon as we left the tarmac. The initial climb out of Saw Bench carpark (which was later to become our second feeding stationg of every lap) was a real lungburster and so I decided to stick behind my team mate Tracy Dean (she's not the British trail running champion for nothing) and watch her foot placement. A nice winding trail gave us a chance to catch our breath and then we were clmbing again. Many runners shot past us up these hills, but we (along with Fionna who had joined us) maintained our steady pace, as we'd previously discussed that you cannot win a race in the first few climbs but you can certainly lose it! There was a nice runnable section on forest roads once the steep climb was over and so we ran along as a team, chatting away (or rather I babbled and the others humoured me!).





The extra water station

The steep downhill to an extra water station (kindly arranged by the race organisers due to the forecast heat) certainly made me test my "I love running downhills" mantra. Seeing my parents at the bottom certainly made me smile as my father was doing a good paparazzi impression and my mother made me laugh on later laps by imitating my "girlie arms" that tend to flail when I run downhill.

A sharp backwards downhill turn put us on a technical section along the lakeshore. Tracy whooped with delight as she ran along here......and I almost came a cropper. I had decided to go with the other two just to see how I fared over the roots and rocks, but a slight lapse of concentration meant my ankle rolled slightly. I slowed down and let them ease away from me but was back with them by the climb away from the shoreline. 



Another steep shaley descent came to an abrupt end with a switchback onto a small trail, and I don't think I ever made it without worrying about overshooting the corner. This was a truly beautiful part of the course as we ran up and down on single track, in parts exposed to the fierce sun, in parts overgrown, and in parts in the cool dark of thick forest. There was a fallen tree to hurdle and a steep wet scramble to negotiate but we stuck together as Tracy described everything just before we came across it (she had been down and reccied the course well). Coming out onto a forest road, the girls tucked in behind me to take my pace at this point and all too soon we were turning into the loop by the first feeding station. I felt like I was at home in Mabie forest, and certainly caused a cameraman some entertainment as I played "aeroplanes" on the mountain bike berms. 

Lee Kemp had unfortunately had to withdraw from the team before the race due to an ankle injury, but had selflessly come along to help support us all. As I came out of the trees into the sun, he spotted me and called to the feed station that I was coming in, so I shouted that all 3 of us were together in order to save them time looking for our dropbags and bottles. I can honestly say that I have no clue who was manning the feed station as it seemed important to run through strongly in front of all the other teams' supporters. I focused on Doug Brown holding out my bottle with attached food bag and Adrian Stott waving a sponge. Grabbing the sponge I squeezed it over me as quickly as possible and tossed it back to them while trying not to break my stride much.






Enjoying the banter

I felt really strong running out of the feed station and didn't seem to have the girls with me anymore, but I was sure we'd all be back together again soon, so I carried on while relieving my hungry rumbling stomach. I caught up to a group in front, which meant that my pace on the next section was dictated by others, which was probably a good thing as the single track was very overgrown, and you could really see the mud, rocks and roots until you were actually on them. Whenever the path widened I tried to chat with fellow runners as I remembered the advice I was given for the 100k, which was to ensure you chat to people to make sure you're note going off too fast, and to ensure you enjoy what can become a long day out. A Canadian lady and I chatted about how beautiful the course was, and then later on I pushed a bit to catch up with an American lady (her husband was away ahead, running in their men's team).

All too soon we were heading down into Saw Bench carpark, over the timing mat, grabbing bottles, gels and sponges from our support teams, and then back up the steep hill again. As I was heading up the hill, I could hear the announcer saying the Tracy and then Fionna were heading into the feed station, so it was good to know that we were still all close together (and I was sure they'd pass me as soon as we were back onto technical trail). I was really impressed with the cameramen that appeared out of the trees and managed to keep up with me while carrying a heavy camera. When I've run Comrades, I've noticed that other people powerwalk on hills, while I keep running (in a fashion.....baby steps), and the same thing seemed to happen in this race. Again, I decided that I would run as long as it was working for me, but if people were walking faster than I could run, then maybe that was a sign I should also walk. As it turns out, I didn't walk a single step in the whole 77km.

Hot, Hot, Hot.....

The laps seemed to pass by in a blur, as I divided them up in my head : 2 tough climbs with a breather in between, then down to the water table, the technical lakeshore, steep shaley descent then lovely varied trail to the fun run into the feed station, undulating forest road and overgrown trails and mud back to the water station, then a steep sloppy descent followed by a nice run back to Saw Bench.

I had a couple of laps swopping positions to and fro with Roburt (from Team Canada) as we discussed language and slang differences (girlie arms for me vs Herculean arms for him, and nappies for me vs diapers for him - his baby was 3/12 old that day). There was so much support out on course, from friends, clubmates, family and locals but also from other teams. My knowledge of French helped as I could exchange words with the many French supporters, which in turn meant they looked out for me on the next lap. It was also lovely to hear "Go Comrades girl" every time I passed the South African feeding station.






Clearly too happy!

I was slowly working my way up the field (being amazed when I passed the top American lady at the end of the second lap as I'd heard she was an amazingly strong runner and could beat some of their men's team, and also being stunned when I passed the defending champion, Maude, at the start of the 3rd lap) and I was being given feedback every half-lap about the gap to the lady in front. I wasn't sure whether to trust this information at first, as I'd been warned that the support team might lie if they though it would help, but when I was hearing the same ballpark figures everywhere, I figured it must be accurate.

With 2 laps to go, I heard that Ricky had a decent lead and had less than 1.5 laps left, so I really hoped that he wouldn't lap me. In fact, although there were 10 of us out there running for GB, and a couple of 2 way points, I didn't see any of the others after the first feed station.

I wanted to start to push on in the second half of the 4th lap, but unfortunately my body told me otherwise. I had a niggle in my left groin which seemed to hurt more when I tried to pick up the pace, so I settled back into my run and decided to see what I could do on the last lap. I had worked out (from lap 4) that when I hit the final water point, I only had 3 miles left to run, so hoped my groin would withstand pushing then.

As I passed the marshal (and her dog) at the sharp corner of the last wet, shaley, slippery descent, I commented "No offence, but I'm glad I don't have to see you any more times" and then tried to drive myself on. It didn't seem to happen as all I succeeded in doing was make myself limp slightly. I hadn't ever seen the lady in front and the last update I had had was that she was 2 mins ahead of me. A quick talking to and I did pick up the pace slightly, so that by the time I headed into Saw Bench for the final time, I was told that it was possible to catch her as the deficit was only 70seconds.

You don't really compute what people are saying at a time like that, but all I could do was kick as hard as possible. The distance to the finish was about 1km, half of which was down a really steep hill, up which a car was driving (causing me to shout and swerve). Hitting the final straight I finally caught sight of the Italian lady and although I didn't think it was humanly possible to catch her, I kept sprinting, as the team event is worked out on cumulative times, so every second counts.






Done in by the sprint finish!

In the end I crossed the line 7hrs and 56 seconds after I started, and I had decreased the gap to 3rd from 69s to 26s in that last km, so proving to myself that no matter how far I've just run, I can dig out a strong finish when I have to. Looking at my garmin later, I discovered that I'd actually run that last stretch at 6min/mile pace - not bad after having already covered 47 miles!

I was over the moon to finish so far up the field (4th lady and 37th overall) and my teammates were just as fantastic, as Fionna finished in 7:17:49 and Tracy in 7:24:02 giving us a cumulative time of 21:43:01 and securing us the team Bronze medal (along with our other amazing teammates Sandra Bowers and Isobel Wykes).





I found it hard to express myself in a finishing interview (probably due to the all out sprint) but I really loved the course (as the terrain was so varied- it had a bit of everything and you could never afford to switch off), the race, the support, and the whole experience. I'm still in awe and very grateful for the confidence that everybody has in my ability, both to recover from Comrades and perform well when it matters most.



A happy Team GB!!



The race will be broadcast on August 4th on Channel 4 at 7:30am. There are certain moments that were recorded that I seriously hope they edit out!

News Update....

Since I went straight back to work on returning from Comrades, I could almost believe that it never happened, but my energy levels may tell a different story. I am, however, being sensible and making sure that I recover fully as there is little time before my next big race.



The GB kitbox!!!!



British Athletics have recently officially announced the team for the IAU Trail World Championships, which take place in Llanwrst, Wales, on Saturday 6 July. I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to pull on a British vest again (and I have asked for a vest rather than a croptop, as I suspect that large numbers of midgies can be found in the Welsh forests).

GB & NI team for the IAU Trail World Championships:



Men                                                                               Women                                               

Lee Kemp                                                                    Tracy Dean

Ricky Lightfoot                                                             Fionna Cameron

Matt Williamson                                                          Joanna Zakzewski

Iain Ridgway                                                                Isobel Wykes

Andrew James                                                            Sandra Bowers

Craig Holgate   



Yes, I spelt it correctly!



"The course sees the athletes complete five circuits of a 15km loop in the Gwydyr Forest, with the underfoot conditions being a mixture of trail and forest tracks, including 558 metres of climbing."

In order to prepare for the race, I am going to have to swop my road legs for trail legs, with Likeys kindly providing me with some new kit and shoes to help the transition (no excuses for not getting out once recovered now!!!).

    

Right to the line.....





An "expo massage" to  iron out the in-flight kinks

Lying in bed at 3:30am, after being woken by a text message from a clubmate already getting himself ready to go to the start, I cannot get my head around the fact that today is "Comrades Day". The day when I, along with 19,721 other people, will attempt to run 87 km from the sea-level City Hall in Durban to the cricket oval in Pietermaritzburg (at 650m of altitude) via a high point of 824m.



The stats for this, the 88th year, showed 18,259 entrants from S Africa and 239 from the UK, with 15383 males compared to 4339 females. 



By 4am, I've decided that I may as well get on with it and so get up, apply the P20 and Vaseline, then pull on the Nedbank Green Dream Team knickers and vest. Me? Knickers? Exactly.......so I quickly follow up with capris and a jacket!



Eating my porridge, bananas and honey at 4:20am, it was already feeling warm. Even though the previous day (June 1st) had officially signalled the start of winter, there had been many warnings about the predicted unseasonably high temperatures. I had tried to put that to the back of my mind and tune out to the comments about how tough I might find it having come from Scotland, where we'd just recently had hail and frost, but it was reassuring to know that the organisers had arranged for the 49 refreshment stations en route to provide 1,900,000 sachets of water and 935,000 sachets of Energade.



Wow - my name instead of a number!



We left the house at 4:40 to head down towards the start......and I panic-grabbed another couple of slice of toast, thinking it would be a long time until I had my next proper meal.

Arriving in downtown Durban, it was obvious that something big was about to happen. Despite the darkness of the hour, the streets were buzzing......with locals out for the atmosphere, cheery supporters and thousands of runners (nervous novices, relaxed regulars and everyone in between).

I stripped off, got a last encouraging hug from Dave Pearse (who would be seconding me en route) and headed into the City Hall. Sitting down with my drinks bottle, I was again amazed to see so many people running round and round the inside of the building. Did they not realise that they had another 87k to run so there was no point tiring themselves out before the start?

Walking down to the Elite start, and chatting to Holly Rush, I was reminded of my first Comrades.......as you never re-experience that feeling of heading off into the unknown. She was planning to run to her heart rate, while Gloria Vinstadt (a Swedish Comrades novice, though seasoned 100k runner) had decided that she would run to a 6hrs 30 finish pace. I had discussed some ballpark times that Dave might expect to see me on the route, but I was planning to run on feel. I knew that I was the slowest marathoner there, so I steeled myself for the fact that everyone else might disappear away from me at the start, hopefully to come back later on. As they barriers between the starting pens were dropped, everybody pushed forward. I don't like the pushing and shoving (or finding someone squatting down to have a pee on my foot) but I love the emotion you feel, surrounded by S African runners, as they play Shosholoza and Chariots of Fire.



The cockerel crowed and we were off.......or rather, everyone else was.......as the guy behind me grabbed my left arm and pulled me backwards to lever himself forwards. As I'd expected, everyone seemed to shoot off, but my plan was always to run my own race and start steadily, then see what happened later on in the day.

After about 100m, my friend Dan Robinson came up alongside me on my right, which was great, as if you run the "speed of chat", it helps prevent you going off too fast. Something didn't feel right, however, as within the first kilometre, I cool feel myself getting really warm with sweat beading already. In last year's "down" run, it didn't get warm until daybreak dawned and I wore gloves for the first 10k at least. 2011 had also been an "up" year, but I remember starting off feeling nice and cool. The fact that it was already so hot and humid at 5:30 am didn't auger well for the rest of the day.

As we joined the main highway out of Durban, Jacques Mouton appeared on my left. It was lovely to see him again, as I ran a good portion of last year's race with him, though he said that he faded significantly later on. Unfortunately our run together this year was even shorter, but we still managed a quick chat.



The support around the 10k mark (sorry the 77k to go mark, as the course signs are a countdown) was massive but I just about spotted Dave (who'd picked up Ruth to help support, then watched the start on tv at home, starting a stopwatch when the race went off so they knew exactly when to look out for me and where) and gave him a wave and a thumbs up as I was feeling great and in control of my running. One of the great things about having Dave second you is that (along with local knowledge both of having run many Comrades himself and of how to get to certain points on the course) is that he's rather tall, so you can spot him in a crowd.

I knew I would see Dave and Ruth about every 10k, at least initially, and they had an idea of what I might be needing at each point, as there is a strict "stand and hand" rule for seconders during the run. I knew I had to get across to the right hand side of the road before we turned to go up Fields Hill (the second named hill of the day - see diagram) but there were far too many men between me and the edge for me to get through. I had to do a big sprint to find a gap for myself, causing Dan to ask if I was planning a fartlek all the way to Maritzberg. Even having got to the edge it was difficult to stay by the kerb, but luckily I managed it so that I could grab both my sunglasses and a gel from the big guy. Two years ago I declined my sunglasses, not being used to wearing any whilst running, but found I could hardly see as you run directly towards the rising sun. Forewarned is forearmed and so I was glad of them this year. 



The day in profile.......



I had passed my first lady just before the start of the hill, but she came storming past me like a train halfway up. I enjoy the climbs on the course as they are one of my strengths, and so overtook many others (including another lady) in that 2km long climb. It was then lovely to pass through some leafy villages with great support and welcome shade, whilst the wolf whistles from the boys of Kearsney college helped put a smile on my face. More places gained on Botha's Hill, and it was a great confidence boost to hear the times that people were hoping to run as you passed them. Relaxing down the other side meant I again picked off several runners, including the lady who'd passed me on Fields. I learnt to ignore the comments from supporters along the route as, although they mean well, it is about the only race where you can hear that you're the 7th lady, pass 3 ladies, and then be confidently told that you're lying 8th!

I lost Dan after about 30k, but presumed that he was away ahead of me, and so didn't look back, just carried on at my comfortable pace. There is a big descent down into Drummond, which is the halfway cutoff point, and I knew that I was going to see my seconders near the top of the climb beforehand. I much prefer solid food to gels, and so had given them some homemade flapjack in a bag that they could hand me, hoping to use the downhill to be able to eat properly. Unfortunately, I hadn't considered differing versions of the English language. As I shouted "flapjack" at Ruth, she just looked back at me with a confused expression on her face. What they call a "flapjack" in S Africa, is what we call a "pancake" in the the Uk, and I should have asked for a "Jungle Oats Crunchy Bar"! When Dave explained, Ruth put on a great turn of speed to go past me on the hill and get ahead so that she could "stand and hand" me my longed for treat (along with a gel).

On the way down into Drummond, I caught up with a large group of runners and was surprised to see Marina Zhalybina in the middle of it. I had never been ahead of Marina in my life - she finished 3rd to my 4th at Comrades in 2012 and finished 1st to my 2nd at the World 100k Champs in 2011. Marina also owned no less than 11 Comrades gold medals, and so passing her did freak me out slightly. I was worried that I'd gone too fast and would pay for it later, and spent the rest of the day expecting her to come flying by. I had hoped to be working my way into the bottom of the top 10 by the halfway point, not be in the middle of it.

However, the timing mat at Drummond had a definite party atmosphere about it and so I enjoyed it. The song "Call me, maybe" was blasting out and so I ran through with a smile on my face, performing the actions to the song........though I made sure I wasn't doing this near the cameras, knowing that my father would be watching the race online at home, and not wanting him to think that I was suggesting that random people should ring me! I had 3:17 on my watch and although the true halfway is several minutes further on, I headed up Inchanga feeling strong, with plenty of running in my legs (and plenty of salted potatoes in my hands).

I had learnt the year before that when people shout what sounds like "go ladies!", it doesn't actually mean that there is another woman running on your shoulder, but when you pass and hear "yeay....a lady" only to then hear "and another one"......"and another one" a few seconds apart, you know the field is tightly packed. Listening out for these calls was a way of passing time on the long open stretch of road that is known as "Harrison Flats". By this point I had been running entirely on my own for some way, which unfortunately meant that I had to battle the increasingly strong hot headwind on my own.

As I neared Cato Ridge, I thought that Marina was making her move, but it was actually Irina (another Russian lady) who passed me as if she was running a 10k race. She looked amazingly strong......maybe it was the thought of a birthday cake at the finish, as not many people would choose to run 87 hard kilometres as a birthday treat! There was no way that I could have gone with her, but as I'd said before, I could only run my own race......and whether others had a better run was out of my control.

I had run most of the way with a distinctive purple vest of 'Turn to God AC' visible some way in front of me but I finally caught up with Stuart (the owner of said vest), which gave me a bit of company through the next stretch. Most of the comments were about the strong wind, as it even blew down barriers and signs along the sides of the road. Unfortunately, it did not blow away the smell of the chicken farms, so how the people managed to stay at the refreshment station there all day is beyond me.

I remembered struggling through this section 2 years ago and thinking how nice it would be to just stop and walk, but this year I felt stronger and suddenly I was passing the highest point at Umlaas Road, with the realisation that I had less than a half marathon left to run. Another runner (Michael Ndlovu) had come back to us by now. This was great because, as a seasoned runner of Comrades (wearing a green number) he anticipated our needs and would signal people at the refreshment stations ("tables") to get them to stand on either side of the road so that we could grab the "baggies" with each hand. It became my personal challenge at each table to have grabbed some bags of water from the first person, have opened them and poured them over my head and into my mouth, by the time I reached the last person, from whom I got another water and an Energade.

Strangely enough, I was looking forward to the infamous Polly Shortts as I knew it would be a chance to push on as you gain 100m over 1.8km, so in my head, my kilometre countdown was to the 10k to go point. This made the race end seem closer to me and I felt good watching the numbers tick down.

About 15k from the finish, I saw Dave and Ruth for the final time. While handing over a drink and gel, Dave told me that I was 8 minutes down on the 4th placed lady but that she seemed to be fading. My response of "I'm fading too!" caused Stuart to smile, but I wondered how much of that deficit I would make up, or if she would rally in the run for home.

I felt like I was running alone up Little Pollys and Polly Shortts, but  Stuart later told me that both he and Michael had tucked in behind me, to use me as shelter from the wind. In my previous 2 Comrades I had never walked a single step and so I was determined that this year should be no exception, which again enabled me to move up the field on these testing inclines.

At the top of Pollys, I felt great and so decided to pick up the pace and really work all the way to the finish. It was "just 8k" after all. Michael came with me, and though Stuart later said that he had thought he would be able to stick with me to the finish, I opened up a gap of 400m within the first km, and 4.5 minutes by the end.

It isn't the easiest 8k, as the support lessens after the crowds of Pollys because most people have gone closer to the finish so the are some quiet isolated open stretches, and the course definitely "undulates". At this point in the race, any slight change in gradient can feel like a huge hill, and twice the road does actually disappear down into a huge deep, so you have to really control your tired quads down to work up the other side.

We thought we were almost there, as the run in had seemed long, and the crowds were building up again, and so both of us had the same uncharitable thought (Michael expressing it out loud) when we saw the 2km to go marker. Even so close to the end, we were still grabbing as many baggies as possible both to drink and pour over ourselves, as the temperature was well into the 30s by now.



My super-seconders!



Finally we turned off the main road and had our last long descent, punctuated as it was with multiple speed bumps to trip up weary legs. The "Toyota mile" starts as you turn left into a 150m long avenue of palm trees through the mayor's garden. It seems very dark after the bright sunlight, but I could just about see a figure right at the far end as we entered. Michael confirmed my suspicions that it was Charne Bosman, the 4th lady (and multiple S African marathon champion).

I had the bit between my teeth now and powered down that avenue. At the bottom of it, the top 10 finishers of either sex are handed a red rose to carry round the final lap of the oval. This lap is meant to be for runners to "savour their heroic achievement". This was not my plan......I dug as deep as I could and carried on sprinting round that lap, overhauling Charne with 50m to go and crossed the line with a look of pure delight on my face.



I had finished in 4th place in the ladies' field, behind 3 extremely talented and experienced Russian athletes and, more importantly to me, in the top 100 of the field overall. Michael and I were both given the same time of 6 hours 53 minutes and 29 seconds, and you couldn't wipe the grin off my face as I caught with my awesome seconding team and other friends and runners in the international enclosure afterwards!

Having a laugh with my clubmate Craig (while someone is stretchered out of the International Enclosure behind us....oops!!)



The 2013 Comrades Marathon (the "Ultimate Human Race") has since been described as one of the toughest in its 88 year history, not only because of the searing heat but also because of the very strong headwinds. Indeed, 4,148 starters failed to finish within the 12 hour time limit, with about another 7000 finishing in the last 90 minutes, and 800 needing medical treatment.

The 10 female gold medallists

I, however, will remember it as the day I fought right to the line and did not give up. It would have been "easy" to have settled for 5th place but I wasn't prepared to do that, though admittedly what I thought was a sprint of Olympic worth was probably only a very slightly speeded up shuffle!!!

The British gold medallists!













Pre-race Preparation......

Everybody prepares for a race in their own individual way, but generally this is just a variation on a theme to make sure you arrive on the startline feeling fresh, rested, prepared and ready to run as well as you can.



A track-trot in race kit!

Relative to many comparable runners, I am not an especially high mileage person, so "tapering" can seem a little odd. I run because I love it, not because I "have to", and so the last week or so has been strange. Spring has finally arrived on Scotland, and so the early blossom is out, as are the bluebells, daffodils and wild garlic, and everything looks fresh and green. This is one of the best times of year for just taking yourself off to the trails and country roads and simply running, while surrounding yourself with nature. It has been hard to resist, especially in the glorious sunshine, but I'm hoping it lasts for another few weeks and that we haven't had our summer in the same week as our spring!

I have done a few things to keep ticking over and prepare myself as well as I can........which included going for a run in my race day kit. There's nothing more likely to cure you of the embarrassment of wearing running knickers than wearing them on a track shared with runners 30 years younger than yourself! Still, it's important to make sure you identify any potential chafing spots ahead of race day.



Running in the sun





With clubmates/colleagues

I also had a good fast run with many of my clubmates on a beautiful warm sunny day........so hopefully the sun and the warmth in South Africa won't be a total shock to the system (though we did also have hail and frost last week).

I have learnt a bit more about EFT (Emotional Freedom Training)and trying to rid yourself of negative thoughts and vibes, many of which have been ingrained in your psyche since childhood.

A minor stressor was being asked (2 days before flying) for a "clearance letter from my Federation" which sounded rather like something out of Star Trek. Luckily, English bank holiday notwithstanding, UK Athletics were able to come up with the goods in time for me.

Another good thing to fill my time with was a trip to see a friend, ostensibly for a cheeky legrub before flying.....but as usual, it ended up as a gossip catch-up, which wasn't a bad thing as it made me forget the upcoming trip. I visited the beautician to sort my "race face".......as you cannot have your mascara running when you sweat, now can you ladies?.....actually, I just treated myself to a nice relaxing head massage.

Finally, all I have left to do is get through another full day at work before driving up to the airport. A friend did offer to drive me there, but I felt it was important to have the time to myself to switch off, sing loudly (and badly) along with the radio, and just be alone as it does get a bit busy once you start travelling; meeting up with people, going to the expo to register, attending the press conference and generally catching up with friends from all over the world. 

As a footnote.....bearing in mind my love for food and drink, I'm looking forward to ice cream with Dan in Dubai and then wine with Dave in Durban. 

Oh yes, and then there's a day of running in the sun........

Nutrition

Ahhhh.......eating and drinking......2 of my very favourite things!!

And 2 activities that I think a lot of runners obsess over and have many hang-ups about.


A cup of molten chocolate....bliss!

Everybody is different, both in their basal metabolic rate, and in the food they like to eat, but I am a firm believer in that the body will tell you what it needs and you shouldn't deprive it.
Ok, so I'm not a super-light, super-streamlined, super-speedy track runner.......but I have sufficent stores to sustain my running over the distances that I enjoy. Using Comrades as an example - when you arrive in South Africa people look at you and make judgements based on your physique; I was told that I should be able to run it OK as I "wasn't as skinny as some girls". It is noticeable that in distance races such as Comrades or 100Ks (and I base this on observations both as a runner and as the medical support) that those runners who do not fuel adequately as they go along, soon find themselves fading even if they started out really strongly. If you get your nutrition and hydration right, you often find yourself finishing well ahead of runners that on paper should be well up the road.

You gotta love a free post-race buffet



I was lucky enough to listen to a talk by a dietician at one of the Scottish Hill Squad away days. Interestingly, she told all of the hill runners that they needed to eat more every single day. She guessed that this might concern some of them, but reassured them that as they were training regularly, the vital extra calories would actually help build muscle and strength rather than being laid down as fat. A few of my other running friends have also found that when they increase their intake, they perform better and some actually lost some weight, counterintuitive though that may seem. I know that after a long run (and sometimes for the next couple of days) I feel as if I can never satisfy my appetite, and so eat constantly, yet I don't seem to get any heavier.



2 breakfasts pre-race is better than one!



When in Lanzarote, I certainly took advantage of the "all you can eat" buffets at breakfast and dinner, yet did some of my best training there, so it cannot have done any harm, and probably did me some good!



Seafood and Sangria!!



Interestingly, if I think back to 2 specific races when I felt I didn't perform very well, both involved problems with my nutrition beforehand.... whether it was a long time spent travelling, missing out on regular mealtimes, or whether it was the fact that certain race organisers forgot to provide any carbs in the vegetarian meals the day before the race!

Basically, I've learnt to listen to my body, and not worry about what people think of the amount that I eat as it has always served me well. In fact, when away at my last two international races, the only people that eat more were the super-speedy Kenyans, so if it works for them......